Letters to Santa

Santa pajamas

It was cold outside tonight, so the boys could finally wear their new Santa pajamas. 

 

Dentist

Ryland and I had our 6 month dentist check up.  He acted so grown up and wasn't nervous or scared.  He sat down in the waiting room and grabbed Time. 

 

 

Ryland's cleaning and exam went well, and he has no cavities.  Yes!  Great job!

Fun with family

 Ryland and Reed absolutely adore their cousin, Ally, and they love playing with her.  I have no idea what they are doing in these pictures, but they all look happy.

 

 

After completely stuffing ourselves on delicious cuisine, we laughed and joked at the contents of our Christmas crackers.  They all had something different inside, so it was fun to share.

 

Reed got paper dominos.

 

Ally isn't a fan of the crown.  I had the camera ready to snap the quick shot before she ripped it off.

Ryland's cracker had fancy, silver, sparkly watch.

 

Ally must really like tea.  She got 2 singing tea sets.

 

Not to give away a future gift, but the boys like their new helmets.

 

The kiddos also opened new books.

 

Tepee

Aunt MaryAnne sent an awesome tepee to the boys, and it was a huge surprise.  They had so much fun running in and out and putting their stuff inside.  Cousin Ally was visiting, so she was drug inside too.

 

 

Christmas party with Santa

The annual Christmas party for members of GCSML was once again a blast.  As soon as we arrived, we ran into Santa.  We took the opportunity to take a non-crying, semi-smiling picture.

 

There were lots of fun activities for the kids, and the cookie decorating station was a favorite spot. 

 

 

 

After a couple hours of jumping in bounce houses, eating yummy treats, and crafting, it was time to go.  We couldn't pass up a ride on the train.  

Teacher gifts

I am wrapping up the final little things for our Christmas gift giving while the boys are at school today.  I finished the gifts for Reed's teachers and school directors this morning, so I am delivering the joy early!  I just loved the mercury glass holders with the poinsettias.  I should have picked up an extra for the house.  Merry Christmas!

 

WCUMC Christmas Festival

We had a wonderful afternoon at the White's Chapel Christmas Festival.  The boys started with the snow tubing hill before the line was too long.  Reed jumped right in with no fear, and he was laughing the whole way.  Ryland was a bit more timid, and he actually didn't want to go until Reed went first.  He did slide down and ended up very happy.

We headed on to the carnival games, so the boys could win some trinket prizes.  John Chris and I were shocked to see that Ryland wanted to play every single game.  Reed was more interested in getting in the bounce houses.

 

We ended the evening at the fountain, and I snapped my favorite picture of the boys.  The true meaning of the season.

Coloring

We love to color!  Especially with markers!  That is why Color Wonder markers are a big hit at our house.  They only color on special paper, so we never have a mess to clean up. Even though we have multiple books, the boys like to color one picture at the same time which can get a little tricky.  John Chris came home just in time to snap a picture of all of us coloring together.

 

MOPS & DOPS

We had an awesome turnout for this year's MOPS & DOPS.  About 30 couples enjoyed visiting and getting to know one another at our house.  We had the best time, and the party ran late into the early morning.  Great times with great friends!

 

Tom the elf returns

Our annual December visitor, Tom, made his first appearance of the Christmas season.  He brought Christmas pajamas and a Christmas calendar.  The boys were thrilled to see him hanging by the stockings and loved the treats he brought. 

Now, I just hope he can help keep them in line so Santa can come in a few weeks.

 

Giggle

After the boys were tucked in bed, I found one of Ryland's little man's gun.  Pretty ironic for a little toy gun to be found on the Parents magazine that is full of great parenting advice and tips.  It gave us a giggle!

 

Christmas decorating

The Christmas decorating iwas in full force this weekend.  We set up and fluffed the red tree in preparation for the ornaments.  The boys were very intrigued with the process, and they wanted to be right in the middle of the action.

 

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The glass ornaments were hard to keep our hands off of.  Something about being breakable just made them even more fantastic.  The boys loved hanging them on the tree and talking about their meanings.

 

As soon as the tree was finished, the nutcrackers found special places throughout the house.  Ryland and Reed love the nutcrackers and wanted to play with them all.  John Chris told them what each one was and when he got them.  It was a wonderful day of sharing traditions and making memories.

Outside Christmas decorations

The lights are up, and we are decorated for Christmas!  The outside that is.  We pulled out all the outdoor decorations that we haven't used the past two years and added lights to the house.  So very merry!

Gaylord

We have been looking forward to going to the Gaylord Texan to see all of their Christmas decorations and the ICE exhibit. I had showed pictures to the boys, and they were so excited! 

While we waited to enter ICE, we snapped a few pictures with the cool sphere tree.

 

It was an experience just to get our coats on to enter ICE, but we all thought Reed looked so funny in the huge coat.  We were all bundled up and ready to check it out.

 

The Merry Madagascar theme was cute and kid friendly.  It is kinda sad when corporate sponsors take over though.

 

Papaw, Reed, Nana, and Ryland grin in the frigid temperatures, because they were having a blast. 

 

Ryland was first to go down the ice slide.

 

Reed was quick to follow his brother's lead.  They both loved the slide!

 

The very last room was a huge ice nativity scene and angel like they had the first year ICE came to the Gaylord. There wasn't any flashy colored ice or load music.  It was beautiful!

 

Even though it was 9 degrees, Ryland was all smiles.

 

After we finished the ICE exhibit, we went for a few rides on the indoor snow tube.  Reed was too short to ride, so we took turns.  In my time with Reed, we played like we called people.  He wanted to call Santa, and he was shocked when Santa answered.

 

On the way out, we ran into a very tall toy soldier.  The Gaylord was beautiful and was a great way to kick off the Christmas season.  Thanks for a great time Nana and Papaw!

 

Pergola wrap up

We finished up the last little part of the pergola, and we are so happy with the finished product.  We went ahead and added cedar to the covered porch and replaced the lighting.  It makes the space feel bigger and brighter.

After

 

Before

 After

 Before